Dr. Daniel Fincke has his PhD in philosophy from Fordham University and spent 11 years teaching in college classrooms. He wrote his dissertation on Ethics and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. On Camels With Hammers, the careful philosophy blog he writes for a popular audience, Dan argues for atheism and develops a humanistic ethical theory he calls “Empowerment Ethics”. Dan also teaches affordable, non-matriculated, video-conferencing philosophy classes on ethics, Nietzsche, historical philosophy, and philosophy for atheists that anyone around the world can sign up for. (You can learn more about Dan’s online classes here.) Dan is an APPA (American Philosophical Practitioners Association) certified philosophical counselor who offers philosophical advice services to help people work through the philosophical aspects of their practical problems or to work out their views on philosophical issues. (You can read examples of Dan’s advice here.) Through his blogging, his online teaching, and his philosophical advice services each, Dan specializes in helping people who have recently left a religious tradition work out their constructive answers to questions of ethics, metaphysics, the meaning of life, etc. as part of their process of radical worldview change.

Jimmy_D

When I first started playing the MMO, Eve Online, when I began to socialize with the players it quickly became evident that I, an American, was a minority. The general populace of the game was Europeans and Middle-Easterners. My sense of American ego was quickly squashed and I was forced to see America through the eyes of those that weren’t America. This was during the Bush years so it’s not hard to imagine just how terrible the frustration and anger were towards our country. This video that you posted was one of those that was linked to often to describe just how stupid us Americans were.

Daniel Fincke

@Jimmy_D: Yeah, the Bush years just ruined being an American among Europeans.

@Char, thanks for coming by! Glad to see our views so close on this, I feel a similar mixture of emotions towards America, as perfectly captured by this satirical video.

Char

We are always in everyone else’s business and it’s always about “us”. It is not the business of the US to police the world and this was not the vision of the framers of our country and of our Constitution. We are hated due to our political arrogance. We were to have relations with other countries, trade with them; not play deadly games of chess for our own political gains. So, yes, we are hated and the only way to turn this hatred around is to leave other countries alone. Let them fight their own battles. Let them set up their own governments; and when the people of those countries vote their leaders in, we are to stay out of it. We need to take care of the people of the US.

The video I found kind of amusing. We have awesome technology and we should be proud to be Americans. I AM A PROUD AMERICAN ` FUCK YEA!

http://atheists-and-christians.blogspot.com/ Mike AKA MonolithTMA

This is one of those satire videos that some people in other countries might take seriously. Heck, I’m sure there are some right wingers sending that around to their friends and agreeing with it.

That being said I must close with one word:

“Books!”

Daniel Fincke

@Mike: Yeah I imagine either those with underdeveloped senses of irony or a real unfamiliarity with the American left’s love of satire, which is enough to match the right’s lack of subtlety, might get confused.